Round five of the Australian V8 Superboats Championship presented by Penrite saw the final event of the 2022 calendar year with teams returning to Kennards Hire Park at Lake Centenary in Temora for a second event under lights. Unlike round four just a month ago, this time teams were campaigning a rotation that many had contested in the past, but despite their familiarity, there was a touch of deja-vu about the result, Phonsy Mullan, Brendan Doyle and Bastian Mullan continuing their winning streaks, whilst Connor Smith claimed his maiden win in the Junior Development category.
The results might have had a familiar feel to them, but they didn’t convey the complete picture, with all four classes providing some of the closest action of the season to date, Brendan Doyle’s victory in 400-Class by just five one hundredths of a second – a good indication of just how tight the racing had been.
For Phonsy Mullan, he overcame a strong challenge from long-time rival Daryl Hutton to continue his winning streak, Hutton under pressure from boat owner Chris Edmonds in the final, the two ‘Hazardous’ drivers in the end separated by just six tenths of a second, whilst in LS-Class, Bastian Mullan again faced pressure from former Champion Kyle Elphinstone, the reigning title holder though just too good despite campaigning a brand new ‘RIPSHIFT’ package, the pair joined by Nate Mullan on his return to the podium after a setback for Matt Malthouse during the opening final.
Sadly, there were a number of incidents, the biggest of them falling the way of Darrin Kesper and Kayla Foote, the ‘Let’s Boogie’ 400-Class team striking trouble during the fourth qualifier, a seemingly innocuous off at the top off the circuit running the boat up the bank, before it flipped over the tyre wall and down into a paddock outside the circuit. Darrin was able to walk away, but despite initially standing up in the boat, Kayla admitted to suffering back pain, a visit to the nearby Wagga Hospital revealing two fractured vertebrae, something which will require recovery time in what may be her last run in a V8 Superboat, but typically, despite the setback, she was in good spirits, urging Kesper to have the boat ready for the Griffith round in February.
UNLIMITED SUPERBOAT
Thanks to ongoing flooding through regional Australia and prior commitments for the likes of Sam Everingham, a depleted Unlimited field faced the starter at Temora for what would be a rotation that teams had faced in both 2020 and 2021, giving them a good idea of how they needed to prepare their boats, whilst a benchmark time of 38.107 set by Slade Stanley in June 2021 gave them something to chase.
Not surprisingly, Phonsy Mullan was quickly down to Stanley’s pace, but whilst looking to better that mark, track conditions ultimately slowed almost every team as the night rolled on. Whilst Mullan top qualified, behind him Daryl Hutton was all smiles, the expat New Zealander – still campaigning ‘Hazardous’ thanks to ongoing part delays in rebuilding his own boat – getting to within just over half a second of his rival heading into the elimination finals, although he also faced his own challenge from boat-owner Chris Edmonds.
Campaigning Slade Stanley’s second ‘Stinger’ now known as ‘Non-Hazardous’ Edmonds was suffering ongoing issues, in the end Stanley himself suggesting the new boat owner park up the LSX-powered machine after reviewing engine data, Edmonds jumping across to ‘Hazardous’ for the second qualifier where he was immediately on the pace.
For local hero Scott Krause, his pre-event preparation revealed a hole blown through the cylinder head of ‘KAOS’. The team working tirelessly just days out from the round to prepare the boat, cobbling together whatever parts they could find after patching and machining the head, before vital pushrods went missing in the post. There were some very nervous moments on the ramp Friday night as they fired the boat for the first time, running on just seven cylinders before locating a separate electrical issue they quickly repaired to be ready for action Saturday morning.
Frustratingly, whilst fast, they weren’t able to join Mullan and Hutton in the outright battle, ultimately settling for fourth, Chris Edmonds putting ‘Hazardous’ to good use to join Mullan and Hutton in the final.
Always challenged under lights with the setbacks of Usher Syndrome, Glenn Roberts turned in some of his best ever performances once the sun went down, the V8 Superboat veteran fifth overall having impressed in the dark conditions, dropping just 1.3 seconds over his qualifying best from round three.
Roberts also had the opportunity to strap in a guest navigator during the second qualifier, the world’s fastest blind-man on two-wheels, Australia’s Ben Felten experiencing the sport first hand before he travels to the USA in 2023 for a challenge on the blind land speed record in an electric-powered streamliner. To say Felten was blown away by the experience would be an understatement, the pair following on from an evening with local Mayor Rick Firman OAM and the Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency The Honourable Margaret Beazley for a civic reception in Temora the night previously to amongst other things, recognise the International Day of People with Disability.
Joining Roberts and Krause outside the three in the final was Simon Doyle who was continuing his rookie run in ‘The Girlfriend’, the new Unlimited driver completing every rotation to improve across the day and build more valuable experience as he prepares to make an impression in season 2023.
After setting the pace with a 39.948 in the Top 6 elimination final, Daryl Hutton was out first in the final looking to try and take the fight to Phonsy Mullan who held the benchmark time of a 38.699 set in the third qualifier, the two-time champion understanding that this could be his best chance yet of returning to the top step of the podium, and whilst he fell a quarter of a second shy of his 39.223 best in Q3, he knew it wouldn’t be enough to keep Mullan at bay, the ‘RAMJET’ driver getting to within two one thousandths of his best to go top with a 38.701.
And that left Edmonds who had progressed to the final with an impressive 40.337, and he showed just how comfortable he was in ‘Hazardous’ to find even more time to card a 40.140 and fall just six tenths shy of Daryl Hutton for his maiden podium finish in the Unlimited category, to the cheers of the appreciative fans.
For Mullan, he has all but put the 2022 Championship out of reach, the reigning Unlimited Champion needing to only finish seventh or better next time out to continue his winning streak and claim a record ninth Australian crown.
400-CLASS (GROUP A)
After losing the previous Temora round of the Championship, Jody Ely made a wholesale change to the ‘RAMPAGE’ package ahead of round five, drafting in a new Phonsy Mullan, GM Motorsport built powerplant in an effort to extract more power in his title battle with Brendan Doyle, Doyle having convincingly defeated the reigning AUS#2 in the third and fourth rounds.
As a result the pair continued their battle through qualifying and into the opening elimination final, Ely holding the advantage in qualifying, his 42.231 best, just 18 one hundredths faster than Doyle, the pair rarely more than a tenth apart in each run. Both drivers though went slower during their Top 6 run, water conditions slowing the field under lights, but it was Doyle who suffered the greatest setback, a rub along the bank on the run home all but throwing the ‘PULSE’ boat out of the water highlighting just how hard the two teams were pushing.
Ely was first out by virtue of being fastest in the previous session, the two-time Temora winner giving it everything it had to set the mark with a stunning 42.586 – his fastest of the night, but he could only watch in stunned silence as Doyle recovered from his Top 6 setback to take the win, the margin of victory, just 49 one thousandths of a second.. Both drivers admitting afterwards that they would be unable to extract anything more, they were tapped..
Behind them the battle was on for third, with Danny Knappick looking to consolidate a podium position in the Championship and whilst he was confident of making the bottom step, the returning Daniel Warburton was getting more and more comfortable in ‘Team Attitude’, ultimately pushing Knappick all the way to the final, the margin between them in the Top 6, just three tenths of a second, the ‘Tuff’n Up’ crew just scraping in to join Ely and Doyle in the final.
With the top four locked away, fifth saw a great battle between round four podium finishers Hugh Gilchrist and Darrin Kesper, Kesper holding out through the early qualifiers as Gilchrist – aided by former rival Tremayne Jukes – dialled himself in in the ‘MATTRIX’ before his rival suffered a dramatic off during the fourth qualifier.
Running back up to the top corner of the circuit at the furthest point away from the start line, Kesper ran slightly wide on the entry to the 90 degree left-hander, running out onto the bank in a relatively innocuous exit to the circuit, before spinning sideways on the wet grass and into the tyres, sadly carrying enough momentum to flip the boat sideways and over the tyres which line the edge of the facility, the boat dropping a couple of metres down the other side into a paddock.
The Safety Crew were quickly on the scene to assist Kesper out of the boat, but whilst initially standing in her seat, navigator Kayla Foote complained of back pain, medical staff stabilising her in the boat as it was recovered to the trailer, an ambulance ultimately transferring her to Wagga Hospital to complete scans and tests to determine the extent of any injuries, two fractured vertebrae the final diagnosis. Rest, a brace and pain killers were the outcome, Kayla forced to take it easy as she recovers, although she was quick to suggest that Kesper repair the boat for the next round in February, an event where at this stage there is no guarantee she will return to the seat, however she admitted that she still has a great love for the sport despite the setback.
With Kesper’s boat retired after the incident despite the fact it may well have carried on after the impact – standard protocol for the sport sees the belts [safety harness] cut in the event of any injury – that left Hugh Gilchrist to claim fifth, the Victorian all but matching his qualifying best set in the final session.
LS-CLASS
Despite a late scratching for the ‘Disturbed Racing’ team – who suffered some ongoing technical challenges with their two boats, the LS-Class still saw a strong field of entries, 15 teams lining up for the fifth round of the season, including four teams doing double-duty, the most notable, ‘Drop Bear Racing’ with Lawrie and Karen Howlett both competing as drivers using the other as navigator, the pair joining ‘RIPSHIFT’, ‘Agro-Vation’ and ‘Nood Nutz Racing’ with A and B teams.
Arguably the biggest news though was the debut of an all-new ‘RIPSHIFT’ package for reigning Champion Bastian Mullan and brother Nate, the team having sold their Championship winning package to the USA, fortunately for them though, the ’RAMJET Racing’ team includes a number of hulls in their inventory, the replacement, a boat with a number of West Australian titles under its belt – a factory ‘Stinger’ originally built for boat manufacturer Rex Briant. Originally slated as a potential replacement for Phonsy Mullan’s multiple-Championship winning ‘RAMJET’ hull, it was sidelined after the team elected to run with the new Australian-made ‘PULSE’ leaving it as an ideal replacement for the ‘RIPSHIFT’ team, although the boat received a big birthday ahead of its debut, the team admitting they’d spent as much as 300-hours on preparing the boat for it’s LS-Class debut.
As a result the Mullan brothers didn’t disappoint, although both admitted to it taking a few rotations to get the hang of it, such was the difference in feel between the two hulls – the bad news for their rivals – Bastian topping every qualifier, his best lap eight tenths faster than title rival Kyle Elphinstone.
For Nate Mullan, he progressed more cautiously to be comfortably fourth at the close of the five qualifying rounds, shadowing Elphinstone and Matt Malthouse.
Of their rivals, an epic battle was brewing for a position inside the top six, Tyler O’Day, Lawrie Howlett, Paul Hill and Jim Beaman separated by mere tenths of a second, the quartet joined by Lance Edmonds, Noel Verning, Mike Hessell and Mitch Malthouse in the opening elimination final, Rob Johnston, Ron O’Day and rookie Karen Howlett missing the cut.
Despite the benchmark time of a 41.593 during Bastian Mullan’s third qualifier, the reigning Champion was unable to improve in the opening elimination final, the combination of running under lights and shallower channels saw most teams fail to improve, but the ‘RIPSHIFT’ ‘A’ team were able to maintain point with a 41.711 to be more than a second up on Kyle Elphinstone, with Nate Mullan inheriting a comfortable third after another early exit for Matt Malthouse.
Closing in on Kyle Elphinstone’s time, Matt Malthouse charged out the gate looking to lock himself into the final six, but a wide exit on the tight left-hander at the top of the circuit saw the engine flame out with a fuel pressure issue – something which had proven an untraceable intermittent issue all day – spinning the bright orange ‘Nood Nutz’ team up the bank and into retirement, the issue also sidelining the ‘B’ team of Mitch Malthouse and Harrison Collins dealing the Keith-based team a double blow.
Mike Hessell was the next driver out – the Queenslander looking to build on his strong run of recent performances to shake the top six, but whilst quick out of the blocks, he too came off at the top of the circuit, rolling ‘Borrowed Time’ onto its side and into the barriers – game over. He was joined by Noel Verning and Lance Edmonds, both of whom fell short of advancing, the pair joined by Paul Hill, who also failed to advance after Tyler O’Day turned in the fourth fastest lap of the session to join Lawrie Howlett and Jim Beaman in the final six.
For Tyler O’Day his progression this season saw him a very real threat for fourth and another strong haul of points, but like so many of his rivals, he came off at the top of the circuit chasing a time, putting the ‘Agro-Vation’ boat hard into the tyre barriers backwards. That allowed Jim Beaman to move into fourth – his best result of the season – the ‘JB Racing’ driver getting the better of Lawrie Howlett who suffered his own setback. Up by four tenths on Beaman at the split, Howlett suffered a technical issue just one corner from home, the boat flaming out then becoming locked on the edge of an island, Howlett restarted the engine to complete the lap, but with a time some 25 seconds slower than Beaman, he was forced to settle for fifth.
And that left Nate Mullan to progress into the final for the first time in over 12 months, the younger of the two ‘RIPSHIFT’ drivers actually claiming second in the Top 6, just three tenths down on his brother and half a second up on Kyle Elphinstone, the trio set for a great showdown in the final.
Not surprisingly Bastian Mullan put it all on the line in his final run to stop the clock with a stunning 41.210, whilst behind him Kyle Elphinstone also found something a bit extra to card his best time of the day, his 42.243 giving him second after Nate Mullan’s improvement only found mere hundredths, his time in the end a 42.422 giving the ‘RIPSHIFT’ team an almost perfect debut for the new boat.
JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT
With three drivers in the field, and all three now progressing to the ‘open’ key – providing them all the maximum performance from the Rotax Seadoo powerplant – it was well and truly game-on for the trio, points leader Connor Smith looking to claim his first win of the year against rivals Koby Bourke and Eliza Roylance.
Roylance was again cautious through the qualifiers as the least experienced of the three, although she improved with almost every run, in the end carding a conservative 71.326 in the final, down on her 69.000 best from the fourth qualifier.
For Connor Smith, he was hoping to close down the advantage of reigning Champion Koby Bourke, his 48.000 set in the fourth qualifier though, 1.8-seconds down on Bourke who improved again in the final session to set the mark at a 43.565.
Quick off the line in the final Bourke was keen to extend his advantage, but whilst up on his best, he ran wide on the exit of an island and bounced across the cross wash and up the bank, the boat ultimately stranded on the edge of the bank, but with help from Safety Crew to get the boat going again, he was classified a DNF, opening the door for Connor Smith to go after that elusive first win.
In the end Smith turned in a comfortable lap to set the bar at a 52.252 and claim his maiden win, Eliza Roylance taking second with Koby Bourke a disappointed third.
And that’s the 2022 calendar year completed, the Australian V8 Superboats Championship presented by Penrite continues on Saturday, February 11 with a day-night event at the notorious Lake Wyangan venue at Griffith in the New South Wales Riverina.
For fans of the Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship, they can catch all the action on 7mate and 7+ (Rnd#4 airs on Saturday, 31 December on 7mate). Updates will be posted on social media channels with respect to on air times. Episodes one, two and three are also available free-to-air on 7+ (search V8 Superboats).
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Rnd#5 2022 Australian V8 Superboats Championship presented by Penrite
Kennards Hire Park, Lake Centenary, Temora, New South Wales
03 December, 2022
FINAL RESULTS
TOP 3 FINAL
Unlimited Superboat
1. 1. Phonsy Mullan/Leigh Stuart (RAMJET) – 38.701
2. 28A. Daryl Hutton/Mick Parry (Hazardous) – 39.500
3. 28B. Chris Edmonds/Jamie Maroney (Hazardous) – 40.140
400-Class (Group A)
1. 4. Brendan Doyle/Rory Doyle (PULSE) – 42.537
2. 33. Jody Ely/Nathan Pennington (Rampage) – 42.586
3. 45. Danny Knappick/Darren Tickell (Tuff’n Up) – 47.194
LS-Class
1. 1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah James (RIPSHIFT) – 41.210
2. 219. Kyle Elphinstone/Macey Roylance (Blackout Racing) – 42.243
3. 1B. Nate Mullan/Cain Wallace (RIPSHIFT) – 42.422
Junior Development*
1. 97B. Connor Smith (Lil Pyscho) – 52.252
2. 97C. Eliza Roylance (Lil Pyscho) – 71.326
3. 97A. Koby Bourke (Lil Pyscho) – DNF
* different circuit rotation to other classes
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TOP 6 FINAL
Unlimited Superboat
1. 28A. Daryl Hutton/Mick Parry (Hazardous) – 39.948
2. 1. Phonsy Mullan/Leigh Stuart (RAMJET) – 40.128
3. 28B. Chris Edmonds/Jamie Maroney (Hazardous) – 40.337
4. 37. Scott Krause/Rachel Parsons (KAOS) – 41.138
5. 888. Glenn Roberts/James Parsons (Blown Budget) – 45.287
6. 214. Simon Doyle/Simon Williams (The Girlfriend) – 57.400
400-Class (Group A)
1. 33. Jody Ely/Nathan Pennington (Rampage) – 43.583
2. 4. Brendan Doyle/Rory Doyle (PULSE) – 46.398
3. 45. Danny Knappick/Darren Tickell (Tuff’n Up) – 48.100
4. 81. Daniel Warburton/Ryan Loft (Team Attitude) – 48.430
5. 863. Hugh Gilchrist/Narelle Pellow-Djukic (MATTRIX) – 50.417
6. 43. Darrin Kesper/Kayle Foote (Let’s Boogie) – DNS
LS-Class
1. 1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah James (RIPSHIFT) – 42.158
2. 1B. Nate Mullan/Cain Wallace (RIPSHIFT) – 42.451
3. 219. Kyle Elphinstone/Macey Roylance (Blackout Racing) – 42.994
4. 46. Jim Beaman/Erin Collins (JB Racing) – 45.893
5. 14. Lawrie Howlett/Karen Howlett (Drop Bear) – 70.400
6. 29B. Tyler O’Day/Xavier Jackson (Agro-Vation) – DNF
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TOP 12 FINAL
LS-Class
1. 1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah James (RIPSHIFT) – 41.711
2. 219. Kyle Elphinstone/Macey Roylance (Blackout Racing) – 42.819
3. 1B. Nate Mullan/Cain Wallace (RIPSHIFT) – 43.558
4. 29B. Tyler O’Day/Xavier Jackson (Agro-Vation) – 45.583
5. 14. Lawrie Howlett/Karen Howlett (Drop Bear) – 45.773
6. 46. Jim Beaman/Erin Collins (JB Racing) – 46.040
7. 512. Paul Hill/Alex Singleton (Slicer) – 46.807
8. 212. Lance Edmonds/Peter Sendy (Solid Gold) – 48.055
9. 269. Noel Verning/Nathan Garrett (Quiet Time) – 53.802
10. 69A. Matt Malthouse/Leighton Collins (Nood Nutz) – DNF
11. 370. Mike Hessell/Ruairi Crilly (Borrowed Time) – DNF
12. 69B. Mitch Malthouse/Harrison Collins (Nood Nutz) – DNS
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2022 Australian V8 Superboats Championships presented by Penrite – Series Points
Unlimited Superboat (after round five of seven)
1. Phonsy Mullan (RAMJET) – 180-points, 2. Daryl Hutton (Phoenix Lubricants) – 153, 3. Glenn Roberts (Blown Budget) – 136, 4. Chris Edmonds (Non-Hazardous) – 120, 5. Rob Coley (Poison Ivy) – 109, 5. Scott Krause (KAOS) – 109, 7. Tremayne Jukes (The Girlfriend) – 54, 8. Simon Doyle (The Girlfriend) – 46, 9. Tyler Finch (Loose Cannon) – 30, 10. Sam Everingham (Excalibur) – 28
400-Class (Group A) (after round five of seven)
1. Brendan Doyle (PULSE) – 171-points, 2. Jody Ely (Rampage) – 164, 3. Danny Knappick (Tuff’n Up) – 142, 4. Darrin Kesper (Let’s Boogie) – 102, 5. Justin Roylance (Outlaw67) – 81, 6. Daniel Warburton (Team Attitude) – 76, 7. Hugh Gilchrist (Mattrix) – 59, 8. Greg Harriman (Apache) – 56, 9. Paul Kelly (4Zero) – 52, 10. Brett Thornton (Still Obsessed) – 24
LS-Class (after round five of seven)
1. Bastian Mullan (Ripshift) – 180-points, 2. Kyle Elphinstone (Blackout Racing) – 159, 3. Matt Malthouse (NoodNutz Racing) – 138, 4. Nate Mullan (Ripshift) – 128, 5. Tyler O’Day (Agro-Vation) – 124, 5. Paul Hill (Slicer) – 120, 7. Lawrie Howlett (Drop Bear) – 112, 8. Mike Hessell (Borrowed Time) – 92, 9. Noel Verning (Quiet Time) – 78, 10. Jim Beaman (JB Racing) – 68, 11. Ron O’Day (Agro-Vation) – 58, 12. Rob Johnston (Almost There) – 34, 13. Jade Atchison (Twisted) – 28, 14. Luke Walters (The Spartan) – 26, 15. Lance Edmonds (Solid Gold) – 20, 16. Matt Riley (Toe Cutter) – 18, 17. Darren Pollard (Disturbed) – 16, 17. Mitch Malthouse (NoodNutz Racing) – 16, 19. Karen Howlett (Drop Bear) – 6, 20. James Machan (Twisted) – 2
Junior Development (after round five of seven)
1. Connor Smith (Lil Psycho) – 168-points, 2. Koby Bourke (Lil Psycho) – 138, 3. Eliza Roylance (Lil Pyscho) – 69
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2022 Australian V8 Superboats Championship
Rnd#1 – Tweed Coast, NSW – 23-24 July, 2022
Rnd#2 – Tweed Coast, NSW – 27-28 August, 2022
Rnd#3 – Keith, SA – 8 October, 2022
Rnd#4 – Temora, NSW – 5 November, 2022 (Colin Parish Memorial)
Rnd#5 – Temora, NSW – 3 December, 2022
Rnd#6 – Griffith, NSW – 11 February, 2023
Rnd#7 [FINAL] – Keith, SA – 25 March, 2023
About Penrite
Founded in Melbourne in 1926 by – then – 16-year old Les Mecoles, Penrite Oil utilised high-quality lubricants from Pennsylvania [USA] base stocks, hence the name ‘Pen’ from the base stock and ‘rite’ for the right oil.
In 1979, due to ill health, Les sold the company to John and Margaret Dymond. A mechanical engineer by trade and a car enthusiast at heart, John rapidly expanded the Penrite range of products. His technical background and commitment to quality ensured that Penrite continued to produce the highest quality products becoming the market leader in Australian oil and lubricants.
90 years on from those early beginnings the Dymond family have built Penrite into one of Australia’s most prominent and recognised brands.
The iconic Australian-made and owned lubricants company has a simple philosophy: ‘the right product for the right application’.
Penrite Oil Company produces a large range of high quality products suited to the Australian conditions including the exciting 10 Tenths Racing Oils range which offers a superior package of performance and protection for both competition and high-performance engines.
For more information about the extensive range of Penrite Oils available, visit www.penriteoil.com.au
For more information on the Australian V8 Superboat Championships, please visit https://www.v8superboats.com.au
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